Remote Alcohol Monitoring and Episodic Thinking

NCT03340051 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: RMET/15-955
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 94
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Nearly 18% of United States adults meet criteria for alcohol dependence sometime in their lifetime, with only 24% of those individuals ever receiving any treatment for their disorder (Hasin et al., 2007). The pervasiveness of alcohol dependence indicates a need for continued development of high-impact treatments that are both effective and easily disseminated to a broad population. Recent evidence indicates that Episodic Future Thinking (EFT), the ability to self-project and pre-experience a future event, can help individuals to make changes to habitual behaviors, such as alcohol drinking (Snider et al., 2016). In this study, the investigators will evaluate the efficacy of EFT to help individuals reduce alcohol consumption. The investigators anticipate that EFT will result in a reduction in alcohol consumption over a 2-week experimental period when compared to the control group.

Conditions

Alcohol Dependence; Alcohol-Related Disorders

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in average daily alcohol consumption

  Change in average daily alcohol consumption collected using self reports

  Self report of daily alcohol use will be collected every morning for 7 days after the first session (baseline measure) and for 14 days after the second session and the averages of the 7- and 14-day periods will be compared (pre-post intervention).

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Change in delay discounting rate

  At the first session (baseline measures), third session (after 3 weeks/post-intervention), and the 1 month follow up assessments. The average discounting rates within each group will be compared pre-post intervention

• Change in intensity of alcohol demand

  At the first session (baseline measures), third (after 3 weeks/post-intervention), and the 1 month follow up assessments. The average scores within each group will be compared pre-post intervention

• Change in elasticity of alcohol demand

  At the first session (baseline measures), third (after 3 weeks/post-intervention), and the 1 month follow up assessments. The average scores within each group will be compared pre-post intervention

Study Arms (2)

EFT group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) is the intervention in this arm. EFT participants will generate positive future events they are looking forward to and that could happen at different future time points (e.g., in 2 weeks, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year). Participants will be instructed to use and think about their episodic cues as they make decisions.

Behavioral: Episodic Future Thinking (EFT)

ERT group

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) is the intervention in this arm. ERT participants will list positive recent events (events that have already happened) that they enjoyed that occurred at different past time points (e.g., 12 hours ago, 24 hours ago, a week ago). Participants will be instructed to use and think about their episodic cues as they make decisions.

Behavioral: Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT)

Interventions

Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) BEHAVIORAL

EFT participants will generate positive future events they are looking forward to and that could happen at different future time points (e.g., in 2 weeks, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year). Participants will be instructed to use and think about their episodic cues as they make decisions.

EFT group

Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) BEHAVIORAL

ERT participants will list positive recent events (events that have already happened) that they enjoyed that occurred at different past time points (e.g., 12 hours ago, 24 hours ago, a week ago). Participants will be instructed to use and think about their episodic cues as they make decisions.

ERT group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• provide written informed consent
• be 18-65 years old
• meet DSM-V criteria for moderate or severe alcohol use disorder
• express a desire to quit or cut down on their drinking.

You may not qualify if:

• Individuals who are:
• pregnant or lactating
• meet DSM-V criteria for any other moderate or severe substance use disorders (excluding caffeine, nicotine, and marijuana),
• score 23 or greater on the Alcohol Withdrawal Symptom Checklist (a score indicating that medication would be likely required to manage alcohol detoxification)
• use prescribed or over-the-counter medicines containing alcohol
• participated in any previous studies that included EFT at the Addiction Recovery Research Center in the last three months
• have immediate plans to move out of the area

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC

Roanoke, Virginia, 24016, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Athamneh LN, Brown J, Stein JS, Gatchalian KM, LaConte SM, Bickel WK. Future thinking to decrease real-world drinking in alcohol use disorder: Repairing reinforcer pathology in a randomized proof-of-concept trial. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2022 Jun;30(3):326-337. doi: 10.1037/pha0000460. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

  PMID: 35041442 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alcoholism; Alcohol-Related Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Warren K Bickel, PhD

  Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 3, 2017
• First Posted: November 13, 2017
• Study Start: September 21, 2017
• Primary Completion: September 17, 2019
• Study Completion: October 3, 2019
• Last Updated: February 12, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)